Chapter Twelve

It wasn’t all that hard for Keiran to track Raul. He wasn’t trying to hide himself as he ran; that much was obvious. Following the sounds of snapping twigs and the pained howls, he had to wonder why he had offered to go after him. Yeah, there had been the obvious reason…Raul’s emotions were currently compromised and so for his safety, he really needed to be back at his pack house.

But Keiran had an idea that there was another reason he had done this. There was this part of him, no matter how small or how afraid this part of him may be, that wanted to talk about…losing her. No one he knew had gone through losing a mate, and now, even though he barely knew the young male, there was at least one person he could talk to.

It seemed like a lifetime passed before he found Raul standing still in his wolf form in the middle of a tiny clearing in the trees. Raul sensed his presence and whipped around, his lips curling back over his muzzle to reveal his teeth and the hair on his back rising.

Keiran took the opportunity to shift quickly and he held up his hands to show he meant no harm. Raul stared him down for a few minutes, and when he knew the alpha wouldn’t do anything to him, he shifted as well.

“What are you doing here?” There were still tear stains on his cheeks and he turned his back.

“I offered to follow and keep an eye on you, and Luna wants me to make sure you return safely.” Silence bloomed for a few moments. “Is this where it- ”

“Yeah…” Raul lifted his head and stared at a spot on the ground. There was a blood stain covering the grass. “She was shot here. I don’t even know how I managed to carry her back to the pack house from here. I don’t even remember it.” He swallowed hard and kneeled down by the blood-covered ground. His hand, shaking with his emotion, passed over the grass blades.

Keiran took a breath and wished he had a pack of his cigarettes. He couldn’t believe he was about to talk about her. “You know,” he grunted. “I lost someone, too.”

Raul glanced over his shoulder, a doubting question in his eyes. “Who?”

“My mate.”

Standing up, the young male crossed his arms over his chest, a flash of anger crossing his face. “I thought, according to your wolf, Luna is your mate.”

Keiran wasn’t expecting that one, and he was amazed that despite the fact Raul was mourning, he was still protective of his alpha. He had a feeling the male thought of Luna as more than his alpha, and it brought a strange pain in his chest. Holding back a growl, he balled his hands into fists before trying to continue.

"Well, we’re not even technically sure how that’s going to work out…I guess. Anyways, I suppose I believed for the longest time that the female I was with when I was in my twenties was the one I was going to be with forever.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“What was her name?”

Keiran hadn’t said her name since she died, and he wasn’t sure he could even whisper it now. He took another breath. “Safia,” he muttered. “She and I had our whole lives planned out. We were going to work in the police department together, fight crime and all that. But we wanted a little cottage away from the city, a place of our own so that we could relax together.” His eyes became glossy as he recalled the memories, a lump forming behind his Adam’s apple. “She was beautiful; her hair was a dark, chocolate brown that fell past her shoulders. Her eyes were the same color. I got lost in them every time I looked at her face.”

“How did she die?” Raul’s voice was quiet.

Dropping his head, Keiran stared at the ground and his hands closed even tighter. “She never told me she was sick. It was ironic, maybe even almost funny…I always thought I would be the one to die first �" killed in action, or even of old age. But no, sickness took her away from me first.”

He placed a hand over his face and scrubbed it down hard, letting out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “I can’t say I know exactly what you’re going through since Saf wasn’t murdered, but I’m pretty sure I know more than the others.”

Raul shook his head. “Do you know how much I want to go out there and find Robert and his men right now, how badly I want to wring every single one of their necks until their damn eyeballs pop out of their sockets. I want them to suffer as I am right this very moment!” He shook with his apparent anger and reached for the closest weapon he could find, a large branch. With a vicious yell, he threw it as far as he could and gripped his hair tight, falling to his knees.

“She was so innocent, damn it. Why her? Why did it have to be her?”

Keiran didn’t know what to say, and watching Raul express his pain was hard for him to watch. But he knew he couldn’t walk away, not now. He took a step forward and crouched by him, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. He hoped like hell that this wasn’t too awkward.

The wind blew through the trees, carrying Saf’s voice with it. She whispered to him. “Tell him, my love. Tell him what you know to be true…”

He furrowed his brows and squeezed Raul’s shoulder. “Everything happens for a reason. The only thing you can do is trust that she is in a better place and that she’s happy. I never met her, but I can venture a guess that she wouldn’t want you to be this way.”

Raul swallowed hard and stood slowly. His eyes were closed as he spoke out through gritted teeth. “You’re right…she wouldn’t want me to mourn like this. But I can’t stand here and let her death go unchallenged.”

Without anything else, Raul left the small clearing and headed back in the direction of the pack cabin. Here was something else that Keiran hadn’t been expecting. There was a determination on the young male’s face, and he had a feeling he knew where he was going and what was on his mind.

He followed Raul back to the cabin and looked to where they had held the funeral. Maddie’s body was gone, so he assumed they had buried her without Raul there. It was probably for the best.

As the two of them walked inside, he could sense Raul was still mourning, but it was being overwhelmed with pure anger…and the need for revenge. He didn’t like where this was going…

They both managed to grab some jeans to put on before Raul stopped in front of Luna’s door and banged his fist on the wall. She whipped the door open and looked between the two of them with wide eyes before she comprehended what she was looking at. Exhaling a breath, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Raul.            

“I was so worried. I’m glad you made it back safe.”

“Luna,” the male’s voice sounded dark, almost haunted. “I need you to call a pack meeting. It would probably be best if both of the packs were there.”

“Oh…well, what do you want to meet about?”

“Please, just do this for me?”

She bit her lip and nodded her head. “Of course.”

Once the packs were assembled in the living room, Luna and Keiran stood at the head of the room and looked at every single one of them.   

"Raul has something he’d like to talk to us about. I don’t know what it is, but considering the circumstances, we’ll all listen,” Luna held her hand out for Raul to come to the front.

Keiran nodded at his pack so they would know he agreed with what she said.

“First off,” Raul kept his eyes to the ground. “I want to thank you guys, all of you, for being here for me and for M-… Maddie. I know she’d…” He grunted low and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t think I will ever get over this.” He finally lifted his head and showed the tears shining in his eyes. “This sadness that’s inside me will never go away, even if Maddie wouldn’t like it. But it will be so much easier on me if I avenged my mate. So…I’m asking all of you, both packs, please help me achieve this.”